Rumblings xtra: Items that didn't make print edition

Ohio State sophomore quarterback Braxton Miller has become one of leading contenders for the Heisman Trophy, based on the odds now being quoted by betting website Bovada,

Ohio State sophomore quarterback Braxton Miller has become one of leading contenders for the Heisman Trophy, based on the odds now being quoted by betting website Bovada, West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith is currently the favorite at 5-2, followed by USC quarterback Matt Barkley (5-1) and Oregon running back De’Anthony Thomas (15-2). Miller is one four players listed behind Thomas at 15-1; the others are Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones, Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein and Michigan State running back Le’Veon Bell. Bell is a Groveport grad. Ted Ginn missed the 49ers first two regular season games because of an ankle injury, and even though the former Ohio State star may be healthy enough to play this week, his position as the team’s primary return man could be in jeopardy because Kyle Williams has performed admirably as his replacement. Williams returned one punt last Sunday for eight yards, and handled one kickoff. His only punt return the first week went 20 yards and set up David Akers' record-tying 63-yard field goal at halftime. Like Ginn, running back Brandon Jacobs has also been injured and he faces an uncertain future now. "We know what those guys can do," 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said. "We know what their role is, and it is carved out. But at the same time, we're going to play the guys you feel each week that give us the best chance to win and are practicing better. Ginn and Jacobs haven’t been seen practicing, so that may have been a hint. "There are a lot of possibilities there," Harbaugh said. "And you like to have your opponent think about all those possibilities." So far, Wisconsin hasn’t fared nearly so well with this year’s transfer quarterback – Danny O’Brien – as it did with Russell Wilson last season. O’Brien was replaced by redshirt freshman Joel Stave at the start of the second half in the Badgers’ 16-14 win over Utah State last Saturday, and now coach Bret Bielema is mum on who the starter will be for this week’s game against UTEP. He also didn’t make any of his three quarterbacks – senior Curt Phillips is also in the mix – available for interviews this week. "I said when that (quarterback) decision was made we had three guys we felt could win football games," Bielema said. "That hasn't changed." O'Brien was benched after losing a fumble in the second quarter, his third turnover in two games. He also had an interception overturned by a roughing-the-passer penalty and another fumble that he recovered. "I told him on Sunday that the No 1 reason he got the job to begin with was because of the way he took care of the football," Bielema said. The Wisconsin coach said Phillips would have been the sub if O’Brien had been replaced the first two weeks, and said that “any of the quarterbacks. . . would admit that (Stave) has the best arm out of all of them, strength-wise (and) ability to throw the football." The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that Stave got most of the snaps with the No. 1 unit on Tuesday and Wednesday, which points to him starting on Saturday. CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman speculated that former Red Sox manager Terry Francona would be a candidate to manager either Detroit or Cleveland if either of those jobs open up this winter. He called Francona “a natural” for the Indians considering that both he and his father played there, but also wondered if the Tribe could even afford him if the team dumped Manny Acta. And would Francona even be interested in managing a team in the rebuilding mode, which certainly describes the Tribe? If Jim Leyland and the Tigerspart ways, Detroit seems to be a better fit.